


lighthouse

by AnnaRose26



Category: Ben Hardy - Fandom, Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018) Actor RPF
Genre: F/M, Fluff, This is pure fluff, and inspired by me being a soft bitch, any feedback you have or comments would be amazing, anyway please enjoy!, ben hardy fluff, ben hardy x reader, ben jones - Freeform, fluffy!ben hardy, there is mention of having sex on a 1D blanket which don't knock it till u try it, this is so fluffy might as well call it cotton candy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-28 11:27:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20777804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaRose26/pseuds/AnnaRose26
Summary: Ben and reader are doing a puzzle during a thunderstorm when the power goes out. Major fluff ensues.





	lighthouse

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic I've ever written/posted here and on my tumblr (doing-all-write.tumblr.com) I hope you all like it! Let me know what you think, if you loved it, hated it or if you think I have questionable comma usage!!
> 
> Warnings: Mentions of sex (on a 1D blanket) (Don't kinkshame me)

"Ben."

"No, no. I got this."

"Ben. Seriously. Don't worry about it, it's not even worth it."

"Babe, we've literally been at this for two hours, there has to be -"

"Benny, we've checked EVERYWHERE. That puzzle piece is straight up gone, I'm sorry."

He looked up from his crouched position on the floor, green eyes squinted in determination, "No, this is a fresh puzzle. I refuse to believe this would happen to us."

She rolled her eyes, "Okay but it DID. I think we need to start processing the other stages of grief and hang up the towel on this one." 

His profile lit up infrequently as the candle they had lit earlier threw light, and the smell of lavender, haphazardly around the room. The storm outside building as though sensing Ben's dejection. Thunder rumbled closer, rain beat the roof relentlessly as he turned his head up and stared deep into her own eyes. 

"You really want to give up this easily? After all this time? Sweetheart...what does that say about your commitment to this relationship?"

She scoffed and bit her lips to contain a smile as Ben stared back, barely able to hold back his own smile. 

He wished she would let the smile break free. He did everything in his power to make her smile as often as possible. It was one of his favorite parts of her. When they first met and he encountered her smile for the first time, he knew immediately he was a goner. 

"Well, it means that I know when we're fighting a losing battle which is more than can be said for you-"

"Alright I said ONE time that I preferred DC to Marvel-"

"Which is one time too many! Babe, you were IN a Marvel movie for fuck's sake. I talked about how much I love Captain Marvel for an HOUR on our first date, how could you possibly not think I wouldn't take offense to that?" She crossed her arms and stood up straighter in a futile attempt to make her diminutive frame more intimidating. 

Ben sighed and shook his head as he slowly rose up and stretched his arms over his head, "I know, and honestly I feel like even in the afterlife you'll be giving PowerPoint presentations on why I'm wrong and you're right." 

"Well, yeah. Because I AM right and I DO have a PowerPoint to make that exact point because we had that Passion Party where we had to make a presentation on something we love."

"Yeah, I'm surprised you didn't make it about me." Ben shot back and smiled broadly when he saw her scrunch up her nose and turn her head as she fought back another smile. He knew the right thing to say to fluster her. 

Her index finger coaxed her bangs out of her eyes as she studied Ben, who in turn, was studying her. 

She smiled, cocking her head, "What?"

He smiled back, "What do you mean, 'what'? Can't I just stare at my beautiful girlfriend?"

Her eyes flicked down, then back up to meet his gaze. "You really think so?"

His arms were around her in less than a second.

"Of course I do. Almost as beautiful as I am." he teased as she rolled her eyes and he bent down to plop a kiss onto her forehead. 

She rested her head against his chest and let out a breath. He saw her shoulders sink down as the tension fell from her bones. She had been working so hard at the office. A new project at work had kept her late most days. Coupled with his shooting schedule they hadn't had much time to just, be with each other. 

But they did now. 

And that's when the power flickered off.

"Oh, you've got to be shitting me." 

"Babe, you know I would never shit my favorite turd"

"I really regret ever telling you about that phrase."

"Why? It's so good, plus Joe thinks it's hysterical so he's picked up on it..face it sweetheart, you're a trendsetter."

"Yeah but why couldn't I have set a trend in, like, respecting women or having empathy?"

Her head rattled as Ben's chest shook with laughter, "I don't know darling but soon you'll be setting those trends, don't worry."

She sighed and rested her chin on his broad chest as she stared straight up at him. His face flickered in and out of the faint light the three wicks of the candle threw into the darkest corners of the room.

Thunder boomed directly overhead. The couch, chair and TV stand were ominous sentinels as lightning lit up the room periodically. 

The floor felt comfortably solid as the apartment shook. What was really solid were the strong arms wrapped around her waist. She absentmindedly ran her hands over his forearms, back and forth. Feeling the fine blond hairs get coarse then smooth, over and over again. 

"What are you thinkin' abou'?"

"Hmm, nothing really. I think I've reached nirvana."

"Really?"

"Yes, I'm totally at one with the universe."

"Hmm, and what does the universe say to you, my love?"

"It says that you should kiss me."

Ben exhaled a laugh that she felt break across her face. She grinned up at him as she stood on tip toes, presenting her lips to be kissed.

Ben took a moment to admire her lips. Her cupids bow, how full they were, the color of a rose. The first few times they had hung out, he assumed she was wearing lipstick but he was surprised to find out the first time she stayed the night that her lips were always that color.

When he had admitted this to her, she had laughed and buried her face in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. He hadn't told her, but he had fallen in love with her in that moment. 

And here they were. Wrapped up in each other and he was still madly in love with her. 

A sliver of her pupil lit up in the flash of a lightening bolt, "Are you really going to go against the universe like this? You can't afford to give up some sweet karma. You have that audition in a few days and wouldn't it suck if you didn't do well, all because you wouldn't kiss me?"

"Jesus woman, alright, I'll kiss ya. Can't a man just admire his pretty girl?"

"Well, when you put it like that..." she grumbled as Ben's lips met hers. 

One hand stayed glued to his shoulder while the other moved up to cup his cheek. The pad of her thumb smoothed out the tension that lived under his eyes. She could always tell when he was particularly stressed, his eyes carried the stress. The light in them, dimmer than normal, was the surest sign that he needed a night in. Maybe a massage. Definitely a blow job. 

He pulled back and leaned his cheek into her hand. So soft, smelling faintly of the rose scented lotion she had put on earlier ("It's nice to smell nice! Plus then it's easier for Frankie to pick up my scent if I ever go missing" she had explained once as she walked out of the bathroom smelling like a botanical garden.) He grabbed her wrist and pulled the palm up to meet his lips as the thunder crashed around them.

He pressed his lips into the center of her hand (he always felt like his hands were comically large next to hers. Which she always made sure to give him grief about when he carried more glasses than she from the dishwasher.)

She hummed contentedly and smiled at him as he opened his eyes and met hers, dropping one of them into a wink as he lifted his head up and a soft smile cracked open. 

God, he thought, we don't need any lamps. He just needed her smile. That would be enough for him. 

"We should probably find more light sources." she mumbled begrudgingly, not wanting to move from Ben's embrace.

"Hmm, probably. Or..."

"Or...?"

"We just wait this one out and snuggle together?"

"You, Mr. Hardy, are a gentleman AND a scholar. Let's do it. WAIT." She had snatched his hand as he turned away to head toward the couch. 

Ben's brows collapsed in towards each other as he took a step closer to her, "What is it, love? Is there something we forgot to do?"

She shook her head vehemently, reaching up to rake her fingers through her bangs to flatten them back into place (It was that damn cowlick. She could have sworn she had never had one before she had a particularly rough month and showed up on Ben's doorstep with them.) 

"Can we use the One Direction blanket? You NEVER let m-"

"I NEVER let you use it?" He brought up a hand to his chest in a mock horrified gesture, "Need I remind you, I was the one that suggested once we have SEX on it because I know how much you love them-"

"Okay yes, that was an inspired idea. HOWEVER, you don't need to bring it up NOW-"

"Well I felt like my character was coming under ATTACK so, yeah, I'm going to defend myself!"

"Alright well-" she flung her hands up, and bugged her eyes out. Ben knew these signs, it meant that he was right, she just couldn't think of a better argument against him. 

He smirked and walked away from her to the ottoman where he popped the top off to grab the bright pink blanket, emblazoned with all the members names of One Direction. 

(He would never admit this but he was sure clouds wouldn't be as soft as this blanket. And so what if he napped under it sometimes when she wasn't home? That was nobodies business except his.) 

He swung it around his shoulders and she thought that he would make an excellent king in a period piece. It would be all swirling capes, low lighting, hushed British accents talking urgently about who was going to invade who's land first. It would be boring as hell but with Ben in it, she would watch anything. 

He walked over to her, opening his arms wide with the corners clutched in his hands. He engulfed her and her senses were blocked by fuzz, Ben's steady breathing and the feeling of being totally, and utterly, at peace. 

"Alright, I'm going to start walking over to the couch, you're my eyes."

"Oh that's rich. I can barely see over your shoulder when I'm standing on my tip toes, how am I supposed to see when it's dark AND you're blocking my line of sight SIR?" She huffed as her words became clearer as she poked her head out of the cocoon.

He looked down and saw her bangs sticking up all over the place (why she got bangs when she had a cowlick he would never understand), tiny sparks glinting in her eyes as the lavender candle burned lower as time pressed on. He felt incredibly lucky in that moment. To be with the woman he loved was something he didn't take for granted. 

He smiled and pirouetted around so he was looking over her shoulder, "Don't worry love, 'm gonna guide us. Your lighthouse, if you will" He heard a groan from the blanket.

"Oh babe, that's terrible."

"Yeah and you went all soft on the inside, didn't ya?"

The silence was all the answer he needed as he dropped a kiss to the crown of her head. 

"Not my fault my boyfriend knows that I'm always a slut for cliches."

"I'm always a slut for you, my darling"

She gasped, "The height of romance!" as he laughed.

"Alrigh' love, we've arrived at our destination. How would you like to lay down?"

She took a moment. Ben knew she was staring off into the middle distance. It's how he always knew she was far away from him but he always knew she would come back. 

They always came back to each other. 

"Can I be laying on top of your chest?"

"Of course lovie, c'mon" he flipped them so his knees hit the back of the sofa. He untangled the blanket from them and handed it off to her with a solemn face.

"I'm giving this to you and TRUSTING you to spread this over us equally."

"Oh my god Benjamin, it was ONE time I ALLEGEDLY stole the covers and now I'll never be able to live that down."

"It only needs to happen one time!" He protested as he lowered himself onto the sofa, one arm tucked behind his head. She shook her head and clambered on top of him, blanket draped around her shoulders. She arranged the blanket, taking extra care to make sure they were both covered. (Grumbling the whole time about "picky boyfriends" and "defamation of character". She finally stopped when she felt his long fingers tickling her sides.)

She slotted her legs in between his and snuggled her head into his chest as she felt the comforting weight of his arm across her back. She reached her arms up to loosely wrap them around his neck, "I'm glad you're here with me." 

He stared down at her, "Of course, love. I'm glad I'm here too. Dreadfully lonely at my place most of the time." 

She felt her heart flutter in her chest. She suddenly became interested in the grain of Ben's t-shirt as she adopted a mock casual tone, as if the thought had just popped into her head and not a subject she had been desperately trying to broach for months, "It wouldn't be lonely if we moved in together." 

The air stood still. Even the rain seemed like it was falling more softly. The thunder only distant booms as it marched on to the next town to terrorize. 

She was ready to open her mouth and tell him it was a joke, something she had heard in a cheesy rom-com and wanted to see if it would work when suddenly,

"You want to wake up next to this ugly mug every day huh? Even when I'm hungover and grumpy as hell?"

She inhaled sharply and looked into his eyes, hoping beyond hope she wouldn't see any teasing there. 

She found none. Just adoration, a softness, the faintest pinpricks of warm candlelight reflected back to her. Like lights guiding her home. 

"Even your hungover face is obnoxiously cute, I can't even stand it. How can one man be so damn attractive?"

He chuckled as he brought his other arm around to hold her even closer to his body. "One day I'll teach you my secrets."

She hummed and snuggled deeper into his embrace. 

As the thunder rolled away and the rain petered out into a trickle and finally stopped altogether; the sun rose and bore witness to two people, in love, content with the idea that home was no longer a place but a person. 

And luckily, the sun wouldn't tell anyone they were under a One Direction blanket. 

~~~~~

She woke the next morning, feeling lower to the ground than she remembered being upon falling asleep. 

Her eyelids glowed with a warm light as the sun streamed through the blinds. Ben wasn't under her anymore. 

She slowly pushed herself up and smacked her lips together a few times, trying to rid herself of the sleepy taste in her mouth. 

One arm reached towards the sky as the other scratched her side. She blinked sleepily as she took in the room. All of her appliances flashing 12:00, indicating that the power had flickered back on late last night or early this morning. The candle had finally died out, the only sign it had been lit was the lingering scent of lavender.

Her feet hit the floor with a thud, and grasping the blanket around her shoulders to not let any of the warmth escape, she peeled her body up. 

Her muscles loosened with every step as she went over to the table where they had abandoned the puzzle last night. 

As she walked over, she felt something sticking to her foot. She crossed her ankle over her knee and bent down to peel off whatever had been stuck.

She brought the item up and realized, it was the last piece they needed to finish the puzzle.

She bit back a smile and caressed the rounded edges of the piece as her eyes meandered over the puzzle, her exploration paused by a post-it note stuck in the middle;

Went to my place to pick up some things and bring them over. xx

The smile broke free as she leaned over and slotted the last piece into place under the note. As she stood over the table surveying her work she heard the key in the door, Ben's voice wafting through the door as he called out to see if she was awake. 

As she turned to him smiling, he stopped in the threshold, a box in his arms with two Starbucks cups balanced precariously atop. 

They stood there, smiling at each other when Ben finally broke the silence to say,

"Hi, roomie."

She barked out a laugh, "Hi, roomie." She glanced back at the puzzle letting her finger tips drift over the ridges and valleys of the image they had put together, "I found the last piece."

"You did?" He asked as he set the box down and carried both cups over to her, offering her one. 

"Yeah, it was stuck to my foot." She clasped the cup between her hands, letting the warmth seep into her fingers, studying Ben's profile as he examined the image, a slow smile creeping over his face. 

"I bet you hid it from me last night just to convince me to move in with you." 

A thousand half formed words spluttered through her lips as Ben calmly sipped his drink and slipped an arm around her shoulders.

"I-, no! That's not-Ben, I would never-"

A kiss to her temple finally halted the words, "I know my love, I know. I was joking. Though if we're half as good at living together as we are at puzzles then this whole thing will be smooth sailing."

Her head thudded against his shoulder as they stood, examining their handiwork. Sipping their coffee as this day, and the next, and their whole lives together, unfolded before them. 


End file.
